PAMPHLET  COLLECTION 
Dt^KE  UNfVERSrXY  LIBRARY 


Hon.  POWHATAN  ELLIS. 

OF  MISSISSIPPI. 


Vu 


PERKINS  LIBRiVRY 

UuKc   University 


Kare  Dooks 


HON.  POWHATAN  ELLIS.  OF  M188I88IPPL 


We  deem  it  not  inappropriate  to  ask 
the  readers  of  the  Messenger,  to  turn 
for  a  time  from  the  exciting  events  of 
the  day.  and  recall  the  memory  of  one 
who.  for  many  years,  occupied  a  high 
public  position,  and  by  his  services, 
his  sense  of  justice  and  honor,  his 
patriotism,  courtesy,  .and  dignified  de- 
portmerft.  secured  for  himself  the  gen- 
eral confidence  and  respect.  Within  the 
last  week,  the  Hon.  Powhatan  Ellis,  of 
Mississippi,  has  passed  from  the  scenes 
«f  earth.  He  was  a  native  of  Amherst 
county,  Virginia,  the  youngest  son  of 
the  late  Major  .losiah  Ellis,  of  Red 
Hill,  in  that  county,  and  died  at  the 
former  residence  of  his  brother,  the 
late  Mr.  Charles  Ellis,  of  this  city,  in 
the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Leaving  Washington  College,  Vir- 
ginia, in  a  rebellion  with  some  forty 
other  students,  after  having  been  there 
three  years,  he  went  to  Princeton.  i\ew 
Jersey,  but  being  denied  admission  in 
consequence  of  his  rebellious  with-' 
drawal  from  I^xington,  he  proceeded 
to  Dickinson  College.  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  graduated  in  September, 
1810.  His  father  having  died  a  short 
time  previously,  on  his  return  to  Am- 
herst, he  spent  the  winter  at  home,  but 
in  the  spring  of  1811.  went  to  Staun- 
ton, to  read  law  with  Mr.  .Jacob  Kin- 
ney, who  had  a  class  of  six  or  eight 
students  under  him.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year,  he  went  to  Williams- 
burg to  attend  the  law  lectures  of  Judge 
William  Nelson,  remained  there  until 
the  ensuing  spring,  when  he  went  to 
Prince  Edward  Court-House  to  read 
law.  during  the  summer,  with  Mr.  Hen- 
ry E.  Watkins.  at  the  same  time  at- 
tending in  the  clerk's  ofllce.  with  the 
view  to  acquaint  himself  with  forms 
and  practice — returned  to  William  and 
Mary  in  the  fall,  and  passed  through 
the  second  course  of  law  lectures — 
which  for  a  short  time  previous  to  the 
death  of  Judge  Nelson,  in  March.  1813, 
was  conducted  by  Chancellor  Rol>ert 
Nelson,  of  Yorktown.  Besides  the  law 
course,  he  attended  the  political  and 
philosophical  lectures  of  Hishop  Madi- 
son, president  of  the  college.    The  pres- 


ent Judge  Richard  H.  Field,  of  Cul- 
peper.  and  the  Hon.  John  Nelson,  of 
Baltimore,  afterwards  Minister  to  Na- 
ples, and  Attorney-General  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  were  his  classmates  and 
messmates  at  William  and  Mary.  At 
the  close  of  the  law  course.  Judge 
Field  and  himself  were  licensed  to- 
gether. Chancellor  Nelson.  Judge  Hen- 
ry Coulter,  and  Judge  William  H.  Ca- 
bell signing  the  license  of  each.  Judge 
Ellis  went  to  Lynchburg  to  commence 
his  practice.  He  had  been  there  but  a 
short  time  when  the  British  threaten- 
ing an  attack  on  Richmond,  the  Gov- 
ernor issued  a  proclamation,  directing 
volunteers  to  repair  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment and  report;  whereupon,  he 
immediately  sallied  out.  attended  by 
fife  and  drum,  himself  bearing  a  flag, 
beating  for  recruits  through  the  streets 
of  the  town.  A  volunteer  rifle  company 
had  been  before  partially  organized. 
In  twenty-four  hours  after  the  receipt 
»of  the  proclamation,  this  company  was 
completely  organized  and  equipped, 
and  was  the  first,  from  an  equal  dis- 
tance, to  report  upon  the  Capital 
Square.  The  officers  were  William 
Radford.  Captain;  Samuel  Anthony, 
Lieutena-nt;  Samuel  J.  Wiatt.  Ensign. 
Judge  Ellis  served  as  a  private.  The 
company  remained  in  Richmond  until 
discharged  by  the  Eexecutive.  On  its 
return  to  Lynchburg,  a  reorganization 
took  place;  Samuel  J.  Wiatt  being 
elected  Captain,  Powhatan  Ellis  Lieu- 
tenant, and  Paulus  A.  E.  Irving.  En- 
sign. On  the  22d  of  June.  1814.  they 
were  ordered  into  service.  They  im- 
mediately repaired  to  Richmond,  des- 
cending James  river  in  batteaux,  and 
were  ordered  to  Norfolk.  There  they 
remained  until  peace  was  proclaimed, 
in  February,  1815.  The  troops  at  Nor- 
folk, under  the  command  of  Brigadier 
General  Peter  B.  Porter,  numbered 
about  1.3.000.  Among  thpm  were  six 
or  eight  companies  of  riflemen,  with  a 
separate  encampment  and  separate  line 
of  sentinels,  attached  to  the  regular 
army,  under  Colonel  John  Pegram.  and 
intended  to  operate  with  artillery. 
Circumstances  threw  the  command  of 


lion.  PotthaUtn  Elli$,  of  MixitiHsippi. 


the  Lynchburg  company  principally 
upon  Lif'iitenant  Ellis,  and  the  drills 
were  frequently  attended  by  the  gen- 
eral and  his  staff.  Such  was  his  mili- 
tary bearing  and  spirit  on  all  occasions 
that  in  January.  ISlf),  when  the  Legis- 
lature determined  to  organize  a  State 
corps,  and  for  that  purpose  made  choice 
of  Robert  H.  Taylor  and  Armlstead  T. 
Mason,  as  Major  Generals,  and  John 
H.  Cocke.  Charles  F.  Mercer.  David 
Campbell  and  John  W.  Oreen.  as  Brig- 
adier Generals.  General  Taylor  recoin- 
mended  Lieutenant  Ellis  to  the  Execu- 
tive, in  strong  and  handsome  terms,  for 
for  a  commission  as  Major. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  in  Au- 
gust. 1S14,  when  the  British  fleet  ap- 
peared in  Lynhaven  Ray.  a  council  of 
war  was  held  on  board  the  flag  ship, 
and  an  opinion  given  in  favor  of  an  at- 
tack upon  the  troops  near  Norfolk.  A<i- 
miral  Cochrane  was  himself  opposed 
to  the  attack,  and  after  obtaining  a  re- 
consideration of  the  advice  given,  ul- 
timately weighed  anchor,  and  went  up 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  attack  of  Wash- 
ington and  Baltimorp.  The  friends  of 
Judge  Ellis  have  often  heard  him  .^peak 
of  the  disappointment  of  General  Por- 
ter's troops  at  this  circumstance,  and 
their  vehement  indignation  when  they 
heard  of  the  vandalism  of  the  enemy  In 
burning  the  Capitol  and  archives  of 
the  nation. 

After  the  war  he  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  T.rynchl)urg. 
and  remained  there  until  April,  ISir,. 
During  that  time  he  was  promoted  to 
the  captaincy  of  his  favorite  company 
of  rifles,  the  number  and  efficiency  of 
which  were  greatly  increased  by  him. 
He  commanded  it  indeed  with  decuied 
eclat.  It  was  while  he  commanded 
this  company,  in  November.  ISli").  that 
Genera]  Jackson  passed  through 
Lynchliurg.  on  his  journey  from  Ten 
nessee  to  Washington;  everywhere  the 
most  disting\iished  attentions  were 
shown  him!  no  where  was  a  more  patri- 
otic enthiisiasm  evinced  than  in  Lynch- 
burg. The  riflfs  having  gone  out  be- 
yond the  town  to  meet  and  escort  him 
as  he  came  in  from  Rushy  Forest,  at- 
tracted the  marked  attention  and  com- 
pliment of  the  old  hero,  who  rode  on 
horseback  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Jefferson 
(both  of  them  siiperb  horsemen),  and 
Captain  Ellis  being  one  of  the  mana- 
gers at  the  dinner  given  on  that  occa- 
sion by  the  cori)oration.   was  standing 


by  Mr.  Jefferson's  chair,  when  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson gave  the  beautiful  toast,  which 
has  l)een  so  often  quoted:  "Honor  and 
gratitude  to  those  who  have  filled  the 
measure  of  their  country's  honor." 

Before  leaving  Williamsburg.  Judge 
Ellis  had  formed  the  plan  of  practic- 
ing his  profession  about  a  year  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  then  removing  to  the  South- 
west, most  probably  to  Natchitoches, 
in  Louisiana.  Early  in  1816,  General 
Jackson  passed  through  Lynchburg 
i.gain.  on  his  return  home.  In  a  con- 
versation with  him.  Judge  Ellis  was 
led  to  state  his  plan  of  leaving  Vir- 
ginia, when  the  General  was  kind 
enough  to  manifest  an  interest  in  it, 
proffering  him  his  assistance,  and  giv- 
ing him  letters  of  introduction  to  some 
of  his  acquaintances  in  the  western, 
country.  Among  those  who  were  kind- 
est in  also  furnishing  him  letters  and 
subsequently  cheering  him  in  his 
course,  was  Wilson  Cary  Nicholas, 
Governor  of  Virginia  from  1814  to  1816. 

In  comi)any  then  with  young  Mose- 
ley.  a  personal  friend,  and  a  son  of 
Gen.  Will. am  Moseley,  of  Bedford,  at 
one  time  Treasurer  of  the  Common- 
wealth, and  father-in-law  of  his  old 
captain.  William  Radford,  he  started 
in  .\pril.  1816.  to  seek  his  fortunes  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Travel- 
ing on  horseback,  they  rode  first  into 
Kentucky,  through  Abingdon,  as  far 
as  Beane's  SUition — turned  then  to  the 
Crab  Orchard,  and  visited  Stanford, 
Danville,  and  I^exington.  In  Lexing- 
ton they  were  jointed  by  William  C. 
Breston  (who  had  been  a  student  with 
him  at  Washington  College),  and  by 
two  sons  of  Patrick  Henry — John  and 
Winston — one  of  whom  had  been  with 
him  at  the  same  college,  and  the  other 
with  his  elder  brother  Thomas,  at 
Hampden  Sydney.  These  sons  of  Mr. 
Henry  were  distantly  related  to  him; 
their  mother  being  a  Shelton,  and  his 
mother.  Jane  Shelton,  the  daughter  of 
Richard,  who  was  a  cousin  of  Mrs. 
Henry,  and  both  descended  from  tnat 
(  aptain  Shelton,  of  the  Royal  Navy, 
whose  ship,  the  "Coronation."  compos- 
ing a  part  of  the  grand  fleet  assembled 
by  the  English.  Sj^anish  and  Dutch, 
under  Admiral  Russell,  to  meet  the 
French  under  Count  Tourville,  foun- 
dered at  sea,  in  a  violent  equinoctial 
storm  off  Plymouth,  in  1691,  when  iie 
and  all  his  company  except  a  very  in- 
considerable number  perished. 


lion.  Powhitnn  Ellis ^  of  Mississippi. 


These  young  men  rode  together  to 
Corydon,  in  Illinois,  where  the  Terri- 
torial Convention  was  sitting,  prepara- 
tory to  the  admission  of  that  State  into 
the  union.  Moseley  and  himself,  leav- 
ing their  friends  there,  descended  the 
Mississippi  in  a  flat  boat,  or  "Broad 
Horn,"  together  with  Mr.  Charles  B. 
Green,  a  wealthy  and  well  educated 
planter  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Natchez:  Mr.  .James  Railey,  afterwards 
also  a  wealthy  planter  of  Mississippi, 
and  ever  a  devoted  friend  of  Judge  El- 
lis. Dr.  Cochrane,  who  became  a  suc- 
cessful practitioner  of  medicine  in  New 
Orleans,  and  Mr.  James  Garrard,  who 
succeeded  General  Shelby  as  Governor 
of  Kentucky,  and  was  eight  years  Gov- 
ernor of  that  State— from  1796  to  1804. 
Mr.  Green  had  with  him  about  fifty 
negroes,  whom  he  was  taking  out  to 
one  of  his  cotton  estates.  As  they  trav- 
eled only  during  the  day.  "tying  up"  at 
night,  they  were  thirty  days  on  the 
river — from  the  1st  of  July  to  the  1st 
of  August.  The  Judge  then  being  very 
athletic  and  active,  it  was  fine  sport 
for  him  to  jump  out  on  the  sandy 
shores  and  sand  bars  and  wrestle  witn 
Railey  or  Moseley,  or  practice  with  his 
rifle  at  a  mark,  or  passing  game. 

David  Holmes  was  at  that  time  Gov- 
ernor of  Mississippi  Territory.  Judge 
Ellis  had  letters  of  introduction  to  him 
and  although  when  he  left  Virginia  it 
was  his  expectation  to  settle  in  Natchi- 
toches, on  the  Red  River,  he  was  in- 
duced by  him  and  others  to  make  trial 
of  Natchez,  first,  however,  visiting 
Natchitoches.  Not  being  familiar  with 
the  civil  law.  he  commenced  by  read- 
ing a  course  of  that  law.  as  well  as  the 
territorial  statutes,  in  the  office  of  Mr. 
Chri.stopher  Rankin.  U.  S.  District  At- 
torney, a  gentleman  to  whose  friend- 
ship he  became  much  indebted,  and 
whose  many  noble  qualities  won  from 
him  a  lasting  regard.  In  the  following 
year,  the  Convention  was  held,  which 
organized  the  State  government,  and 
Governor  Holmes,  being  thereto  duly 
authorized,  in  September.  1817,  ap- 
pointed him  a  Judge  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  one  of  the  courts,  until  the  State 
should  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  At 
the  first  session  of  the  Legislature,  four 
Judges  were  elected  for  the  State — each 
had  a  separate  and  distinct  circuit — 
and  the  four  together  composed  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals. 
Judge  Ellis  was  one  of  these,  having 


been  elected  by  a  vote  of  27  out  of  32 — 
those  who  voted  against  him  alleging 
as  their  sole  reason,  that  he  had  not 
resided  sufficiently  long  in  the  State. 
His  circuit  was  the  southern,  extend- 
ing to  the  bay  of  St.  Louis,  and  includ- 
ing a  large  portion  of  the  original 
French  and  Spanish  population.  It 
was  exceedingly  interesting  to  hear 
him  speak  of  the  habits  of  those  people 
at  that  day,  their  local  customs,  preju- 
dices and  traditions,  and  of  the  inci- 
dents of  his  journeys,  as  he  and  the 
iiiv>yers  practising  before  him,  trav- 
eled on  horseback  from  court  to  court, 
trough  a  region  in  its  primitive  state, 
but  thinly  settled,  and  partly  occupied 
by  Indians — many  of  whom  became  his 
warm  friends.  Among  these  he  often 
mentioned  Greenwood  Leflore,  one  of 
the  three  principal  chiefs  of  the  Choc- 
taws,  a  man  of  decided  ability  and 
force  of  character,  after  whom  the  town 
of  Greenwood  and  Point  Leflore  lately 
become  prominent  in  the  military  oper- 
ations on  the  Tallahatchie,  were 
named.  He  knew  also  and  had  been 
the  guest  of  such  men  as  Folsom  and 
Tuppe-na-homo,  of  the  Choctaws.  and 
Tish-a-mingo,  McGilvery  and  Colbert, 
of  the  Chickasaws. 

In  September,  1825,  he  was  appoint- 
ed by  Governor  Leake  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  cre- 
ated l)y  the  resignation  of  ex-Governor 
Holmes,  wtio  had  been  a  second  time 
elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  Miss- 
issippi. He  took  his  seat  a  few  days 
after  the  opening  of  the  session  in  De- 
cember. The  term  for  which  he  was 
appointed,  subject  to  legislative  con- 
firmation, did  not  expire  until  March, 
1S27.  When  the  election  came  on.  be- 
fore the  Legislature  late  in  the  winter 
of  1825-26.  he  was  beaten  by  Mr.  Thos. 
B.  Reed,  after  a  very  close  contest,  the 
vote  having  been  tied  for  several  days, 
but  finally  Mr.  Reed  obtained  a  ma- 
jority of  two.  Judge  Ellis,  however, 
continued  to  serve  until  Mr.  Reed  ap- 
peared and  was  qualified,  on  the  11th 
of  March.  1826.  In  August.  1826.  the 
elections  came  on  for  members  of  the 
l^egislature.  The  question  of  the  Sena- 
torial election  was  one  of  the  tests 
among  the  candidates,  and  when  this 
election  came  on  for  the  new  term,  at 
the  session  of  1826-27,  Judge  Ellis  beat 
Mr.  Reed  by  a  large  majority.  This 
was  an  election  for  six  years,  com- 
mencing the   4th  of  March.   1827.     He 


lion.  PouhaUiii  EUis,  of  Misaimppi. 


served  five  years,  when  he  was  appoint- 
ed by  General  Jackson  to  suoceid 
Judge  Peter  Randolph  as  Judge  of  the 
I'nited  States  for  Ow  District  of  Miss- 
issippi. He  presided  in  the  District 
Court  from  the  l)eginning  of  the  fall 
term  of  1832  to  the  close  of  the  spring 
term  of  1836.  when  he  was  api)oiuted 
by  General  jacKson  Charge  d'Affairos 
to  Mexico.  He  remained  in  Mexico  un- 
til the  last  of  December,  1S36.  when  he 
came  home  under  instructions  from  the 
President.  And  on  the  Uth  of  March, 
1837,  was  appointed  by  Mr.  »  an  Hun-n 
Envoy  ii^xtraordinary  and  Ministi'r 
Plenipotentiary  to  Mexico.  He  did  not. 
however.  pro<eed  on  that  mission  until 
March.  1839.  from  which  time  he  re- 
mained in  Mexico  until  April.  1842. 
After  his  return  to  the  I'nited  States, 
he  held  no  official  position,  though  he 
was  frequently  called  before  the  public, 
by  his  connection  with  the  Democratic 
jjarty,  with  which  he  uniformly  acted. 

During  the  twelve  years  that  he  sat 
upon  the  bench,  his  conduct  as  a  Judge 
was  marked  by  a  faithful  attention  to 
the  duties  of  the  station,  an  inflexible 
zeal  for  the  administration  of  justice, 
the  preservation  of  the  public  peace, 
and  the  avoidance  of  those  delays 
which  often  weary  the  law-abiding 
suitor.  Whenever  it  was  possible,  con- 
sistently with  right,  to  extend  favors, 
they  were  invariably  extended,  but 
when  this  could  not  be  done,  all  par- 
ties were  rigidly  compelled  to  a  proper 
obedience.  At  one  term  of  his  court, 
when  the  revulsions  of  the  "Flush 
Times  of  Mississippi"  had  brought  him 
a  very  heavy  docket,  he  disposed  of 
nearly  400  cases.  When  he  left  the 
bench,  it  was  with  the  regret  of  a  large 
mass  of  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of 
the  people. 

The  first  credentials  of  Juage  Ellis 
as  a  Senator  were  presented  and  ho 
took  his  .seat  on  the  same  day  with 
Judge  Hugh  L.  White,  of  Tennessee. 
He  found  then  in  the  Senate  Mr. 
Holmes,  of  Maine,  distinguished 
among  his  contemporaries  for  wit,  sar- 
casm, anu  readiness;  Judge  Woodbury, 
of  New  Hampshire,  equally  learned  and 
laborious;  Mr.  Robbins,  of  tv-hode  Is- 
land, eminent  as  a  classic;  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  of  New  York;  Governor  Dicker- 
son,  of  New  Jersey;  General  Sam 
Smith,  of  Maryland;  Littleton  W. 
Taxewell  and  John  Randolph,  from 
Virginia:    Nathaniel    Macon,    of   North 


Carolina;  Mr.  John  Gaillard.  so  often 
and  so  long  president,  pro  tempore,  of 
the  Senate,  and  his  eloquent  colleague. 
Robert  Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina; 
Judge  Berrien,  of  Georgia:  Colonel  R. 
M.  Johnson  and  Judge  Rowan,  of  Ken- 
tucky; General  Eaton,  of  Tennessee; 
General  Harrison,  of  Ohio;  Johnston, 
of  I^uisiana;  ^ving,  of  Alabama;  Ben- 
ton, of  Missouri.  Subsequently  there 
came  in  Webster,  and  Clay,  and  Cal- 
houn, Tyler,  McLane,  Frelinghuysen, 
Forsyth.  Grundy,  Livingston,  Marcy, 
Dallas,  Mangum,  Troup,  and  others, 
the  nuister-spirits  of  this  country  in 
their  time.  It  was  an  honor  to  have 
been  the  cotemporary.  enjoying,  as  he 
did.  the  association  and  friendship  of 
such  men,  in  a  select  body  of  forty- 
eight,  exercising  high  functions  of  gov- 
ernment, upon  a  theatre  which  then, 
and  before  and  long  afterwards,  at- 
tracted the  talent,  the  patriotism,  the 
high  spirit  and  the  lofty  ambition  of 
the  first  and  best  of  a  powerful  and 
prosperous  nation.  That  very  period, 
too,  saving  the  dissolution  of  the  Un- 
ion, is  perhaps  the  most  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  the  old  government.  The 
sessions  extending  from  ''2't  to  '32, both 
inclusive,  were  replete  with  important 
measures.  The  Mission  to  Panama,  the 
Occupation  of  the  Oregon  River,  the 
Suppression  of  Piracy,  the  Abolition 
of  Imprisonment  for  Debt,  the  Gradu- 
ation, Sale  and  Distribution  of  the  Pub- 
lic Lands,  the  Removal  of  the  Indians, 
Internal  Trade  with  Mexico,  In- 
ternal improvements,  the  Reeharter 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  the 
Tariff  which  brought  on  Nullification, 
the  Veto  Messages  of  President  Jack- 
son, were  among  the  questions  which 
arose,  involving  national  issues;  to  say 
nothing  of  the  "Reception  of  General 
Lafayette,"  the  "Assault  on  the  t'resi- 
dent's  Secretary,"  the  "Breach  of  Priv- 
ilege," the  '  Impeachment  and  Trial  of 
Judge  Peck,"  and  other  questions, 
more  or  less  weighty,  which  gave  rise 
to  exceedingly  able  and  interesting  de- 
bates in  Congress. 

Possessed  of  but  few  if  any,  of  those 
brilliant  qualities,  whose  rare  assem- 
blage the  world  calls  genius,  yet  pos- 
sessing what  we  must  admit  to  be  far 
better,  a  sound  judgment,  a  resolute 
purpose  to  pursue  the  right,  and  a  ca- 
pacity to  gather  wisdom  from  experi- 
ence. Judge  Ellis  bore  at  least  a  useful 
and  an  honorable  part  in  the  elevated 


JIoii.  ]'<iirh<it((n  Ellin,  of  Misxisxippi. 


position  he  then  occupied.     In  the  ap 
pointment  of  the  standing  committees, 
which  was  hy  ballot,  he  was  assigned, 
at  different  times,  to  those  on   Puolic 
Lands,  Indian  Affairs,  and  Post  Offices 
and  Post  Roads — whose  duties  involv- 
ed the  consideration  of  qtiesuons  most 
nearly    affecting    the    interests    of    his 
State.     One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  ob- 
tain an  appropriation  of     a     sum     of 
money  for  the  repair  of  the  post  road 
between   Jackson    and   Columbus,   run- 
ning through  the  Indian  countrj'.  over 
which  the  State  of  Mississippi  had  no 
control ;    the    object   being  to    put  the  ■ 
road  in  such  a  condition  that  the  mail\ 
mifjht   he  travsportcd   in   covered   car- 1 
riages  to  Natchez  and  New  Orleans!"  j 
At  the  same  session   he   introduceu  a] 
bill,   which   was  passed,  to  enable  the  | 
President  of  the  United  States  to  hold; 
a  treaty  with  the  Choctaw  and  Chicka- 
saw nations  of  Indians.    A  majority  of 
the  Mingoes.   leaders,     captains,      and 
warriors  of  those  nations,  were,  as  he 
knew,  opposed  to  the  policy  of  removal, 
but  under      e  operation  of  this  bill  a 
delegation  of  their  own  people  was  sent 
to  view  the  lands  west  of  tlie   Alississ- 
ippi.  which  it  was  proposed  to  exchange 
with  them  for  their  lands  east  of  that 
river,  and  upon  the  report  of  this  dele- 
gation  a  treaty  was  ultimately  made, 
providing    for    the    extinguishment    of ; 
the    Indian    titles   to  all   lands   within  \ 
the  limits  of  the  State  of  Mississippi;  j 
a  policy  by  which  not  only  the  perish- [ 
ing  consequences  to  the  Indians,  of  a! 
near  connection  with  a  white  popula- 
tion have  been  avoided,  but  they  have 
received  in  fair  and  willing  exchange, 
a  country  suitable  for  their  purposes, 
unexceptionable  in  every  respect,  and 
secured  to  them  by  the  most  ample  and 
solemn  .sanctions;    they  have  received 
pay   for  their  former   improvements — 
been  transported   to  their  new  homes 
free  of  cost — and  aided,  protected,  and 
encouraged  ever  since  their  removal; 
in   fine,  tested  by  time,   it  has  proven 
itself    a    policy    which    has    effectually 
tended    to   the    preservation,    improve- 
ment,  and   happiness   of  the  Indians; 
while  it  has  relieved  one  of  our  finest 
sister  States  from  an  inexpressible  em- 
barra.ssment,  and  left  her  free  to  per- 
form, as  she  has  done,  and  is  nobly  do- 
ing,   her   part   in    the   maintenance   of 
Southern  rights,  privileges,  and  prefer- 
ment. 

His  sagacity  wa,"  shown  on  another 


occasion  during  his  Senatorial  career. 
In    1803.    the    United    States    acquired 
Louisiana,  and   with   it  an  open  ques- 
tion  of  boundaries  for  that  vast  pro- 
vince.   On  the  side  of  Mexico  upon  the 
west,    and    of   Florida    upon    the    east, 
this  question  was  to  be  settled  with  the 
King  of  Spain;  on  the  north  and  north- 
west with  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 
In  1818,  it  was  settled  with  Spain  by 
our  acquiring  Florida — taking  a  boun- 
dary   on    the    west    which    gave    away 
Texas.    The  acquisition  of  Florida  was 
a  desirable  object,  and  had  been  long 
properly  sought;    but     the     treaty   by 
which   it  was  accomplished   has     been 
regarded  as  a  great  oversight  on  the 
part  of  the   Southern   States,      in   the 
strong   language   of   Colonel    Benton — 
'■  The  new  boundary,  besides  cutting  off 
Texas,  dismembered  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,    mutilated    two    of    Its  no- 
blest rivers,  brought  a  foreign  domin- 
ion   (and    it  non-slaveholding)    to   the 
neigborhood   of   New   Orleans,   and   es-  ' 
tablished  a  wilderness  barrier  between 
Missouri    and    New    Mexico — to    inter- 
rupt their  trade,  separate  their  inhabi- 
tants, and  shelter  the  wild  Indian  dep- 
redators upon   the  lives  and   property 
of  all  who  undertook  to  pass  from  one 
to  the  other."     Mr.   John    Quincy  Ad- 
ams, Secretary  of  State,  was  me  nego- 
tiator   and    ostensible    author    of    this 
treaty;    but   he    afterwards    stated   on 
the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, that  in   fixing  the  boundary   he 
had   been   governed   by   the   vote  of   a 
majority  of  Mr.  Monroe's  cabinet,  who 
were  Southern  men.     The  treaty  was 
signed  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Washington,  was  sent  to  the  Senate 
the  same  day.  and  unanimously  ratified 
the  next  day    with  the  general  appro- 
bation of  the  country,  and   the  warm 
applause  of  the  newspaper  press.     It  is 
interesting  at  this  day  to  advert  to  the 
reasons    of    Mr.    Monroe,    a    Soiuuern 
President,  and  the  majority  of  his  caoi- 
net.  Southern  men,  for  pursuing  such 
a  policy.    What  were  they?    There  was 
a  repugnance,  we  are  told,  in  the  east- 
ern  portion  of  the  Union.   [New   Eng- 
land], not  merely  to  territorial  aggran- 
dizement in  the  South  and  Southwest, 
but    to    the  consequent    extension    of 
slavery  in  tuose  quarters;  and,     to  al- 
lay that   repugnance,  and  prevent  the 
slavery  extension  question  from  becom- 
ing a   test   t?i   Presidential     elections, 
^■outhern    men.    in    acquiring    Florida. 


IIoH.  I'utrluitan  Kllix,  of  Missxixnippi. 


gave  atcay  Texas — refusing,  absolutely, 
to  include  joithin  our  limits  as  much 
territory  as  Spain  offered.'*  Though 
the  treaty  was  ratified  with  such  unan- 
imity on  our  side,  Sjiain  hesitated,  de- 
layed, and  finally  suffered  the  time 
limited  for  the  exchange  oi  ratifica- 
tions, to  expire.  New  negotiations 
were  then  entered  upon,  which  resulted 
in  the  ratification  by  Spain  of  the  for- 
mer treaty,  but  this  not  l>eing  within 
the  time  originally  prescribed,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  submit  it  again  to 
the  American  Senate,  which  was  done 
in  the  session  of  1820-21.  It  was  rati- 
fied a  second  time,  and  almost  unani- 
mously, but  not  quite,  four  votes  being 
given  against  it.  and  all  by  Western 
Senators.  In  the  meantime.  Mexico, 
(of  which  Texas  was  an  integral  part), 
ceased  to  belong  to  Spain.  She  pro- 
claimed her  independence,  repulsed 
all  Spanish  authority,  and  continued 
successfully  to  resist  the  mother  coun- 
try; in  consequence  of  which  no  Span- 
ish commissioners  could  go  to  Texas 
to  join  those  of  the  United  States  in 
running  and  making  the  new  boun- 
dary. The  government  of  the  United 
States  then  undertook  lo  establish  the 
boundary  with  Mexico  herself.  This 
was  done  by  treaty  in  the  year  1828, 
adopting  the  boundaries  previously 
agreed  upon  loith  i^pain.  Upon  the 
question  of  ratifying  the  treaty  with 
Mexico,  only  three  Senators  voted  in 
negatively,  namely:  Colonel  Benton,  of 
Missouri;  Judge  William  Smith,  of 
South  Carolina  (afterwards  tendered 
an  appointment  on  the  Supreme  Court 
by  Mr.  Van  Buren).  and  .ludge  Ellis, 
of  Mississippi.  This  Texas  was  the 
country  which  the  United  States  got 
back  in  1848  at  the  expense  of  a  war 
and  a  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

The  celebrated  Sunday  Mail  Report, 
of  the  Committee  on  Post-Offices  and 
Post  Roads,  to  which  had  been  referred 
various  petitions  remonstrating  against 
the  transportation  and  delivery  of  the 
mails  on  the  Sabbath,  was  made  while 
Judge  Ellis  was  a  member  of  that 
committee.  The  report  was  presented 
by  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson,  as  chairman, 
but  it  was  written  by  Amos  Kendall — 
tough  the  leading  ideas  were  suggested 


*Mr  Preston  said  of  this  act — "We 
thrf'w  away  a  gem  that  would  have 
bought  ten  Floridas." 


by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  it  was  revised  and 
corrected  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  a 
clerk  in  one  of  the  departments,  who 
wa.<  a  man  of  talents  and  a  good  writer. 
Great  issues,  as  we  have  said,  were 
before  the  country  when  he  was  in  the 
Senate.  The  national  legislation  was 
dangerously  complicated  by  some  of 
thcni,  bringing  the  two  parts  of  the 
double  system.  State  and  Federal,  into 
.serious  disagreement,  and  treatening 
to  compromise  their  harmonious  ac- 
tion. It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  any 
man.  however  conscientious,  exact  and 
careful  in  the  performance  of  public 
duties,  could  pass  through  such  a  pe- 
riod without  heated  opposition  and 
strong  crimination.  Judge  Ellis  ex- 
perienced his  share  of  partisan  enmity 
and  aspersion.  He  was  especially 
brought  into  almost  constant  variance 
with  the  last  of  his  colleagues,  the  Hon. 
George  Poindexter,  who.  having  been 
successively  Delegate.  Representative, 
Governor  and  Senator  of  Mississippi, 
had  much  influence  at  home,  and  being 
a  man  of  decided  talents,  skilful  in  de- 
bate, and  well  versed  in  politics,  had  a 
corresponding  influence  with  the  oppo- 
sition party,  to  which  he  belonged  in 
Congress.  Nevertheless,  Judge  Ellis, 
on  his  retirement,  was  welcomed  by 
many  gratifying  manifestations  of  re- 
spect and  confidence  among  those  who 
knew  him  best.  A  public  meeting,  said 
to  have  been  the  most  numerous  and 
respectable  that  had  ever  been  wit- 
nessed on  a  similar  occasion  in  Nat- 
chez, was  held  there,  at  which  such 
gentlemen  as  Fontaine  Winston,  Esq., 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Col.  Chotard, 
Mr.  R.  M.  Gaines,  Capt.  J.  B.  Nevitt, 
Dr.  Cartwright,  and  others,  were  ap- 
I)ointed  "a  committee  of  congratulation 
to  wait  upon  Judge  Ellis,  to  convey  to 
him  the  sentiments  of  this  meeting,  to 
shake  him  by  the  hand,  and  to  bid  him 
welcome  to  the  State  which  he  alone 
has  truly  represented  in  the  Senate,  to 
assure  him  of  the  high  estimation  en- 
tertained for  him  by  a  large  majority 
of  his  constituents;  to  express  their 
entire  approbation  of  his  political 
course  in  the  Senate;  to  inform  him 
that  his  i)olitical  friends  have  not  for- 
saken him,  but  that  his  independence, 
firmness,  and  political  integrity  amidst 
the  storms  of  faction  which  raged 
around  him  have  drawn  them  closer  to 
him;  and  likewise  to  invite  him  to  par- 
take  of   a   public  entertainment  at  as 


//'///.  Poirhntiiii  FJUx,  (if  Mississippi. 


early  a  day  as  would  suit  his  conveni- 
ence." At  the  public  entertainment 
subsequently  given,  the  regular  toast 
proposed  in  his  honor  was  in  these 
words:  "Our  distinguished  guest,  the 
Hon.  Powhatan  Kllis — In  private  life, 
of  spotless  reputation;  in  public  life, 
an  able  and  faithful  representative  in 
the  councils  of  the  Republic.  We  say 
to  him  in  sincerity  and  truth:  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant, 
receive  the  reward  due  to  fidelity  from 
faithful  Mississippians.' 

One  of  his  traits  as  a  public  man 
ought  not  to  be  passed  in  silence.  While 
he  coveted  high-toned,  honorable  popu- 
larity, and  received  the  plaudit,  "well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant," 
as  a  recompense  for  the  honest  per- 
formance of  duty  more  highly  appre- 
ciated by  him  than  any  other  earthly 
consideration,  no  man  of  equal  promi- 
nence ever  perhaps  vexed  the  public 
less  wiib  his  own  praise  or  used  the 
newspapers  less  as  heralds  of  his 
movements  and  actions. 

.ludge  Ellis'  first  mission  to  Mexico 
was  one  of  more  than  usual  delicacy 
and  importance.  Mr.  Edward  Livings- 
ton, no  less  distinguished  as  a  diploma- 
tist than  a  jurist,  who  had  then  but  re- 
cently returned  from  France  as  En- 
voy, and  who  from  having  been  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  previously  a  Sena- 
tor, was  well  acquainted  with  the  for- 
eign relations  of  the  country,  in  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  Judge  Ellis,  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  was  the 
most  important  of  all  missions  of  the 
United  States  at  that  day.  Commenc- 
ing immediately  after  the  battel  of 
San  .lacinto,  which  had  resulted  in  the 
defeat  of  the  Mexican  army  and  the 
capture  of  General  Santa  Anna,  their 
general-in-chief,  and  tne  President  of 
their  Republic,  when  the  whole  Mexi- 
can mind  was  poisoned  with  hatred 
toward  the  government  and  people  of 
the  United  States,  it  was  no  easy  task 
to  soothe  the  irritadon,  avert  new  ag- 
gressions and  injuries,  and  at  the  same 
time  secure  payment  for  many  claims, 
amounting  to  nearly  two  millions  of 
dollars,  and  satisfaction  for  numerous 
insults,  which  had  long  formed  the 
subject  of  correspondence  between  the 
two  governments.  Gen.  Jackson  did 
not  forgot  on  this  occasion  his  cardinal 
principle  of  foreign  policy,  to  ask  only 
what  is  right,  and  submit  to  nothing 
wrong.     Under  his  instructions,  a  de- 


mand was  finally  made  in  the  most 
formal  manner,  for  the  adjustment  of 
all  pending  questions,  which  not  hav- 
ing been  complied  with  in  a  given 
length  of  time.  Judge  Ellis  withdrew 
from  Mexico,  bringing  the  archives  of 
the  legation  with  him.  Mexico  having 
subsequently  made  satisfaction  for  the 
insults  complained  of.  and  sent  a  spe- 
cial Minister  to  Washington,  who  en- 
tered into  a  treaty  providing  for  the 
payment  of  all  claims  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  Judge  Ellis  went  out 
upon  his  second  mission,  which  in  its 
turn  became  complicated,  not  only  by 
repeated  occasions  for  new  demands 
of  a  similar  nature,  but  also  and  espe- 
cially because  of  the  famous  Santa  Fe 
exjieditlon.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  however,  he  omitted  no  opportuni- 
ty and  relaxed  no  effort  to  obtain  the 
good  will  of  our  neighbor,  protect  our 
national  respectability,  and  secure  us 
from  designed  aggression — and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  United  States  have 
rarely  had  a  Minister  abroad  who  com- 
manded more  fully  than  he  did  the  re- 
spect and  esteem,  not  less  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  which  he  was  accredited, 
than  of  the  government  whose  agent  he 
was.  His  conduct  and  his  correspond- 
ence were  equally  marked  by  firmness, 
dignity,  courtesy,  and  the  strictest  re- 
gard to  justice  and  propriety. 

The  amount  of  labor  in  the  legation 
at  Mexico  was  excessive;  yet  it  was 
performed  with  an  assiduity,  system 
and  thoroughness  which  elicited  the 
commendation  of  the  Department  and 
of  the  Commission  constituted  for  the 
adjudication  of  claims  under  the  con- 
vention of  April.  1839:  the  Commis- 
sioners, on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  being  Governor  Marcy  of  New 
York,  and  Judge  Rowan  of  Kentucky, 
and  the  accomplished  linguist  and 
scholar,  Mr.  Alexander  IMmitry.  now 
,  of  this  city,  being  their  secretary. 

It  is  curious  to  speculate  upon  the 
consequences  of  the  conduct  of  a  single 
individual.  Judge  Ellis  was  tendered 
the  appointment  of  Charge  d'  Affaires 
to  Mexico,  about  the  first  of  April,  1835, 
to  succeed  Mr.  Butler,  who  had  asked 
and  obtained  leave  to  return  home. 
Texas  had  then  only  reached  the  con- 
fines of  that  struggle  in  arms  which  re- 
sulted in  her  separate  independence. 
J  ne  revolutionary  spirit  had,  indeed, 
three  years  previously,  shown  itself  in 
the  affairs  of  Anahuac  and  Velasco,  and 


8 


lion.  PoirluiUni  Ellin,  i>f  MiKsinMippi. 


Other  proceedings,  on  the  part  of  the  ' 
colonists,  hostile  to  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment. But  tranquility  had  oeen  ap- 
parently restored  by  the  election  of 
General  Santa  Anna  to  the  Presidency, 
and  the  supposed  triumph  with  him  of 
the  Constitution  of  1S24.  Colonel  Aus- 
tin was  then  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
charged  with  the  presentation  of  the 
memorial  of  the  Convention  of  San  : 
Felii)e.  peaceably  urging  the  constitu- 
tional right  of  Texas  to  be  admitted 
into  the  Confederacy  as  a  State  sepa- 
rate from  Cohahuila.  In  short,  it  was 
more  than  six  months  Defore  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  "Committee  of  Safety" 
in  Texas,  before  any  of  those  "Texas 
meetings"  were  held  in  the  Lnited 
States  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
help  for  those  who  were  regarded  as 
brothers  though  residing  beyond  our 
national  boundary,  and  before  the  first 
battle  was  fought,  at  Gonzales,  in  sup- 
port of  State  sovereignty,  and  against 
centralism  and  the  despotic  power  of 
Santa  Anna. 

In  a  conversation  with  the  President 
and  Secretary  of  State  (Mr.  Forsyth) 
soon  after  the  appointment  was  tender- 
ed him.  .Judge  Ellis  suggested  that  if, 
after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Butler,  it 
should  appear  to  them  desirable  or  pro- 
per that  that  gentleman  should  return 
to  Mexico,  it  would  be  entirely  agree- 
able to  him  that  such  an  arrangement 
should  be  made.  Mr.  Butler  arrived  in 
Washington  not  long  after  this  conver- 
sation, and  upon  his  suggesting  that 
he  was  on  the  eve  of  completing  a 
treaty  which  had  cost  him  much  trou- 
ble, it  was  deemed  proper  to  authorize 
his  immediate  return,  with  a  view  to 
its  completion.  Mr.  iSutler  spent  some 
time  with  his  friends  in  South  Caro- 
lina, and  when  he  started  on  his  return 
to  Mexico,  instead  of  proceeding  by  the 
usual  southern  route  from  New  Or- 
leans to  Vera  Cruz,  travelled  overland 
in  a  private  conveyance,  from  Arkan- 
sas to  the  city  of  Mexico,  a  journey  of 
1.400  miles,  passing  through  Texas, 
without  the  Government  at  Washing- 
ton having  the  least  intimation  of  his 
purpose  to  do  so.  It  is  probable  that 
he  wished  merely  to  satisfy  himself, 
by  personal  observation  and  associa- 
tion, of  the  true  condition  of  affairs 
in  Texas,  and  the  value  of  that  terri- 
tory, which  he  knew  his  Government 
desired  to  acquire.  However  this  may 
be.  much  precious  time  was  thus  lost. 


General  Cos  had  not  only  then  set  out, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  disci- 
plined troops,  to  enforce  the  decrees  of 
the  National  Congress,  under  the  orders 
of  Santa  Anna,  but  news  of  the  action 
at  Gonzales,  and  the  capture  of  Go- 
liad, which  preceded  the  surrender  of 
Cos  at  San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  must 
have  reached  the  capital  about  the  time 
that  Mr.  Butler  arrived  there.  Worse 
than  this.  During  the  month  of  March, 
1S,35,  an  act  had  passed  the  Congress  of 
Cohahuila  and  Texas,  providing  for  the 
sale  of  the  enormous  quantity  of  four 
hundred  leagues  of  the  public  domain, 
to  a  small  company  of  private  adven- 
turers, at  a  price  grossly  dispropor- 
tioned  to  its  true  value.  The  law,  it 
is  believed,  originated  in  fraud,  and  the 
Congress  was  shamefully  imposed  upon 
by  those  who  obtained  its  enactment. 
The  Mexicans,  always  suspicious,  took 
up  the  impression  that  Mr.  Butler  was 
concerned  in  this  transaction,  and  that 
the  object  of  his  journey  througu 
Texas  was  both  as  an  adventurer,  to 
look  after  his  interest  in  lands,  and  an 
(Muissary,  to  instigate  revolution.  His 
influence,  as  a  diplomatic  representa- 
tive of  the  United  States,  was  of  course 
at  an  end.  Who  shall  say  that  if  Judge 
Ellis  had  gone  out  as  was  intended  in 
the  early  spring,  under  the  instruc- 
tions which  General  Jackson  was  pre- 
pared to  give,  and  did  afterwards  give, 
authorizing  the  negotiation  for  a  boun- 
dary "from  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rio 
del  Norte  to  the  thirty-seventh  degree 
of  latitude,  thence  along  that  parallel 
to  the  Pacific,"  and  placing  at  his  dis- 
posal ten  millions  of  dollars  for  the 
purpose  of  satisfying  Mexico,  he  might 
not  have  obtained  from  the  sagacious, 
avaricious,  unscrupulous  Hero  of  Tam- 
I)ico — in  the  then  exhausted  condition 
of  the  Mexican  treasury — the  cession 
of  that  greatly  coveted  region — thus 
bringing  into  the  Union  Texas,  which 
had  been  given  away,  and  all  West  of 
the  Rio  Bravo,  including  Upper  Cali- 
fornia. 

A  conspicuous  proof  of  his  firmness 
and  justice  was  given  on  the  occasion 
of  the  capture  of  the  Santa  Fe  expedi- 
tion. Upon  the  facts  before  him,  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  expe- 
dition was  a  military  and  hostile  inva- 
sion of  Mexico,  and  that  those  citizens 
of  the  United  States  who  had  taken 
;  part  in  it,  had  no  right  to  claim  the 
1  protection  of  their  Government.     He, 


lion.  Poithntnn  Ellis,  of  Minnixnijijn. 


therefore,  refused  to  make  any  demand 
upon  the  Mexican  Government  in  their 
l)ehalf.  This  gave  rise  to  grievous  com- 
plaints on  the  part  of  the  sufferers,  and 
to  a  great  clamor  among  their  friends 
and  others  in  the  United  States.  His 
sympathies  were,  indeed,  strongly  en- 
listed for  the  sufferers;  he  knew  some 
of  them  per-sonally,  and  entertained  ! 
friendship  for  the  families  and  friends 
of  others;  and  he  liberally  contributed, 
of  his  private  means,  for  their  comfort 
and  relief,  and  officially,  and  unoffi- 
cially, used  his  utmost  endeavors  to 
mitigate  the  severity  of  their  treat- 
ment. In  particular,  he  urgeu  upon 
the  Mexican  Government,  that  while 
the  Government  of  the  United  States 
was  disposed  to  maintain,  with  strict 
fidelity,  amicable  relations  with  the 
Mexican  Republic,  and  would  not  at- 
tempt to  screen  from  merited  punish- 
ment any  of  their  citizens  who  might 
be  guilty  of  an  infraction  of  tne  laws 
intended  to  preserve  those  relations  yet 
that  summary,  sanguinary,  or  undue 
punishment  of  either  Texans  or  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  in  Mexico, 
would  inevitably  tend  to  excite  and 
foment,  in  this  country,  an  acerbity  of 
feeling  against  Mexico,  which  would 
be  much  more  apt  to  defeat  the  sup- 
posed objects  of  those  punishments 
than  if  the  offenders  were  to  have  a 
fair  trial,  and,  if  then  convicted,  were 
to  be  punished  in  some  proportion  to 
their  offences. 

This  course,  on  the  part  of  the  Min- 
ister did  not  fail  to  make  its  proper 
impression  upon  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment; and  accordingly,  soon  after  the 
arrival  of  the  prisoners  in  Mexico, 
when  Judge  Ellis  had  an  audience  for 
the  purpose  of  presenting  his  letter  of 
recall,  the  President,  General  Santa 
Anna,  as  a  testimonial  of  respect,  amd 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  friendly  sen- 
timents inspired  liy  his  course,  especial- 
ly in  reference  to  the  Santa  Fe  prison- 
ers, placed  in  his  hands  an  order  for  the 
liberation  of  a  number  of  those  unfor- 
tunate men.  Among  those  thus  liberat- 
ed were  Franklin  Cooml)s.  a  son  of 
General  Leslie  Coombs,  of  Kentucky, 
and  George  Wilkins  Kendall,  the  well- 
known  editor,  auditor,  and  traveller,  of 
New  Orleans. 

.Judge  Ellis'  residence,  in  the  superb 
city  of  Montezuma,  was  attended  with 
much  interest,  social  and  political.  He 
witnessed  more  than  one  of  those  revo- 


lutions,  disorders,   and   strifes,   which 
have  contributed  so  largely  to  deprive 
our  sister  Republic  of  that  "peace  and 
happiness,   truth   and   justice,    religion 
and    piety."    without  which    there   can 
be  no  solid  safety,  honor  or  welfare  for 
any    people.      During    the    pronuiicia- 
viento  of  the  Federalists,  in  .July,  1840, 
he  was  placed  in  an  embarrassing  posi- 
tion.    The  troops  under  Urrea,  belong- 
ing to  the  garrison,  ai  midnight,  took 
possession  of  the  palace,  surprised  the 
guard,  and  made  the  President,  General 
Hustamente,   a  prisoner.      The     Presi- 
dent's private  secretary.  Colonel  Alex- 
ander Yhary.   a  Greek   by   birth — who 
had  entered  Mexico  with  Mina's  expedi- 
tion,  in   1817,   long  suffered    imprison- 
ment in  the  loathsome  dungeons  of  San 
.Juan  de  Ulloa,  and  fought  gallantly  on 
various  occasions  as  an  officer  in  the 
Mexican  service — was  a  frequent  visi- 
tor at  the  house  of  the  American  min- 
ister, and  came  to  be  regarded  by  him 
as  a  personal   friend.     Making  his  es- 
cape from  the  palace,  at  the  time  the 
president  was  arrested,   knowing  that 
there  prevailed  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
surgents, a  feeling  of  jealousy  and  vin- 
dictiveness  towards  him  as  a  foreigner, 
and  wholly  at  loss  to  determine  what 
;  to  do  in  the  sudden  and  unexpected  di- 
lemma which  then  presented  itself,  he 
determined  to  ask  the  protection  of  the 
flag  of  the  United   States.     It  seemed 
but  a  repetition  of  the  memorable  in- 
cident in  Mr.  Poinsett's  mission,  when 
Madame  Yturrigaray.  flying  before  Za- 
vala's troops,  implored  him  to  protect 
her;  and  as  in  that  case,  so  in  this,  the 
protection  was  promptly  and  generous- 
ly  given.     The  captive   president   was 
released  on  the  second  day.  and  the  day 
following  was  rejoined  by  his  faithful 
secretary;  and  after  twelve  days'  fight- 
ing, they  returned  to  their  apartments 
in    the    palace,    the    public   tranquility 
having  been  restored.     After  this  inci- 
dent,   the    president    frequently    came, 
attended   by   Colonel     Yhar>-.   to    visit 
.Judge  Ellis  in  a  friendly  and  informal 
manner. 

The  diplomatic  corps  at  that  day  in 
Mexico,  consisted  of  Mr.  Parkenham, 
the  English  minister,  who  was  after- 
wards in  Washington;  Baron  de  Cyp- 
rey,  the  French  minister,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Baron  Defaudis.  whose  demands 
brought  out  the  squadron  under  Ad- 
miral Baudin  and  the  Prince  de  Join- 
ville:  Baron  Von  Gerolt.  now  and  for  a 


10 


lion.  Powhatan  Ellin,  of  Mhsitmippi. 


number  of  years  past  Prussian  minis- 
ter in  Washington:  Haron  de  Norman. 
Belgian:  and  Don  Angel  Calderon  de  la 
Barca.  of  Spain,  twice  minister  at 
Washington,  whose  talented  and  very 
accomplished  wife  has  given  so  pleas- 
ing a  description  of  "Life  in  Mexico, 
during  a  residence  of  two  years  in  that 
countr>'."  Mr.  Brantz  Mayer  was.  for 
one  year,  Secretary  of  the  American 
legation,  and  inscril)ed  his  book,  which 
he  afterwaj'ds  wrote,  entitled  "Mexico 
as  it  Was  and  as  it  Is."  to  his  friend. 
Judge  Ellis.  Among  the  often  received 
and  acceptable  guests  of  our  minister, 
were  Mr.  William  Macluro.  in  early  life 
a  resident  of  this  city,  afterwards  a 
confidential  agent  and  correspondent  of 
Mr.  .Jefferson,  in  Europe,  and  honorably 
known  as  long  the  President  and  bene- 
factor of  the  Academy  of  National 
Sciences,  at  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Antom- 
marchi.  the  surgeon  who  was  chosen 
by  Cardinal  Fesch  to  attend  upon  Na- 
poleon, at  St.  Helena,  who  was  present 
at  his  death,  and  opened  his  body  after 
death:  and  Mr.  Egerton,  an  English 
artist — a  landscape  painter,  of  emi- 
nence, who  was  murdered  in  the  most 
horrid  manner,  with  his  lovely  young 
English  bride,  as  they  were  taking  an 
evening  walk  from  their  pretty  resi- 
dence at  Tacubaya. 

In  stature,  .Judge  Ellis  was  six  feet, 
two  inches;  he  weighed  about  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  pounds.  His  limbs  were 
well  proportioned,  his  carriage  and 
manner  elevated:  his  whole  deportment 
dignified  and  comely:  his  features  regu- 
lar, forehead  expansive,  and  head  finely 
developed.  Mrs.  Trollope,  in  her 
"Black  Book,"  pronounced  him  "the 
handsomest  man  in  Congress."  Cer- 
tainly, in  his  diplomatic  uniform,  and 
by  the  side  of  the  Mexicans,  who  are 
generally  small,  he  was  a  remarkably 
fine  looking  man.  Without  laying  too 
much  stress  upon  mere  appearance, 
however,  we  may  say,  that  being  com- 
manding in  person,  habitually  attentive 
to  dress,  and  scrupulous  in  the  obser- 
vance of  the  established  forms  of  polite 
society,  there  was  displayed  in  him  a 
union  of  dignified  comi)laisance  and 
kindness  at  once  pleasing  and  refined. 

In  the  year  18:*.:'..  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Eliza  Rebecca  Winn,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  daughter  of  Mr.  Timothy 
Winn,  formerly  a  purser  in  the  United 
States  Navy.  Her  mother  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Gasker  Dulany,  of  Shu- 


ter's  Hill,  near  Alexandria,  Virginia, 
and  a  sister  of  the  late  Commodore 
Bladen  Dulany  of  the  U.  S.  Navy.  He 
had  only  two  children — a  son,  who  died 
in  infancy,  and  a  daughter,  now  sur- 
viving him.  The  death  of  his  wife  in 
the  spring  of  1835,  was  one  of  the  rea- 
sons which  induced  him  to  consent  to 
go  abroad.  She  possessed  rare  beauty, 
grace,  and  accomplishment,  united  with 
singular  sweetness  of  temper,  and  a 
highly  cultivated  taste.  The  late  Major 
,Iames  Gibbon,  a  great  admirer  of  fe- 
male beauty,  on  seeing  her  at  a  bridal 
entertainment  given  to  her  in  this  city, 
ri'marked,  that  she  was  tne  most  lovely 
woman  he  had  ever  seen — except  her 
mother. 

While  greatly  devoted  to  tue  State 
of  his  adoption,  in  which  he  so  long 
resided,  and  which  gave  him  so  many 
proofs  of  confidence  and  approval,  he 
nevertheless,  at  all  limes,  turned  with 
I)eculiar  love  to  his  native  soil.  To 
breathe  the  bracing  air  of  Piedmont, 
Virginia,  to  drink  the  pure,  cool,  deli- 
cious water  of  the  spring  from  which 
he  drank  when  a  l)oy,  to  look  upon  the 
mountain  slopes  of  the  Tobacco  Row, 
and  the  Blue  Ridge,  where  he  hau  often 
camped  in  deer  hunt,  was  an  exquisite 
relish  and  enjoyment.  One  of  the  sub- 
jects which  most  interested  him  a  few 
months  previous  to  his  death,  was  an 
effort  to  acquire  the  old  homestead  of 
his  father  and  his  grandfather,  which, 
to  his  great  regret,  some  years  since, 
passed  out  of  the  family.  He  thought 
to  make  it  a  resting  place  for  himself 
and  the  ])alance  of  his  days.  Alas!  life, 
its  homes  and  its  scenes,  on  this  sine  of 
the  grave,  are  closed  to  him  forever. 

The  departed  we  cannot  recall,  but 
we  may  preserve  his  memory,  and  it 
will  be  well  if,  in  many  respects,  we 
follow  his  example.  It  is  no  mean  epi- 
taph to  write  of  one  who  was  forty- 
live  years  a  public  man,  that  he  was 
virtuous — that  whenever  tried,  he 
proved  himself  a  safe  depositary  of 
trust  and  power — that  from  the  day  he 
assumed  the  responsibilities  of  a  man, 
even  to  that  when  the  shadow  of  death 
was  flitting  l)efore  his  eyes,  he  was  in 
all  his  conduct  firm,  courteous,  honor- 
able— and  that  while  in  al)ility  he 
claimed  not  to  rank  with  many  of  his 
illustrious  cotemporaries,  there  was, 
I)erhaps,  not  one  of  them  whose  respect 
he  did  not  command  in  a  high  degree, 
and  who  would  not  say  of  him,  "honor 


Hon.  PowJuUan  Ellis,  of  Mismssippi.  H 


and  gratitude  to  the  man  who  has  per-   credit  to  himself,  his  friends  and  his 
formed    his    whole    part    in    life    with    country." 

Richmond,  Va.,  March  25,  1863. 


^^"-^^^^^^^^-^  c^lX£:^:[Z^  fT^U^^^^^ 


7- 


^i4##= 


